The Dead Can't Testify
by DramaQueen69981
Summary: The Mysterious Benedict Society had never been formed. Mr. Curtain was never stopped. Four years later, in a world where no one thinks for themselves, is it still possible to bring down the M.A.S.T.E.R?
1. Chapter 1

This is awkward. I probably should update Caught On Camera before I start something else, but I just needed to write this. I was listening to music, and I got inspired, and so this was born. This story was inspired be the song The Dead Can't Testify by Billy Talent, but I don't consider it a songfic. It was just something that I needed to get out of my system. Enjoy.

In this fic, Kate is 16, Reynie and Sticky are 15, and Constance is 7.

Disclaimer- I don't own The Mysterious Benedict Society, or The Dead Can't Testify. Sorry to disappoint.

Summary-The Society had never been formed. Mr. Curtain was never stopped. Four years later, in a world where no one thinks for themselves, is it still possible to bring down the M.A.S.T.E.R?

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**Book One-Dura ****Lex****, ****Sed****Lex**

**(The law is harsh, but it is the law)**

**Chapter One**

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"Martin Edmund Lucifer. Convicted of conspiring against the Minister And Secretary of all The Earth's Regions. By order of the law this man is sentenced to-"

Reynie hated this. Standing in the crowd, watching as the man identified as Martin Lucifer stood, trembling at the side of the masked Recruiter. The man was wearing the same thing as every citizen standing in the square, a white tunic and striped trousers. Every person in the crowd also had a light blue sash around their waist. Not the man on the scaffold. His sash was blood red, which meant only one thing."

"-death. He is to be hung by the neck until death." The Recruiter led the man to the gallows pole and draped the thick noose around the man's collar.

Reynie cast his glance to the ground as the man started screaming his innocence in a crazed modus, only to be cut short by a sickening crack. Reynie cringed. At least the man's neck had broken and he wouldn't be left to suffocate. Reynie had seen that happen once, and had nightmares for weeks. It had been almost four years since the first person had been diagnosed with Sudden Amnesia Disease. Four years since the government's decision to make Ledroptha Curtain Minister And Secretary to all The Earth's Regions, or M.A.S.T.E.R. Since then, the country had changed, as if overnight. Suddenly, there were Recruiters on every street corner, enforced dress codes and curfews, but most terrifying, if you were found guilty of "conspiring against the M.A.S.T.E.R." (That is, breaking one of the many, tedious and sometimes ridiculous laws, or talking badly against the M.A.S.T.E.R.), you would undoubtedly be sentenced to death.

Reynie shuddered to think about it. He was clever enough to keep his opinions to himself. He had seen what happened to the people who didn't, even if they were a rarity. It had started out that they would just go missing, or be accused of being insane, and taken to a treatment facility and never heard from again. Almost a year after "the Improvement" as it had been dubbed by Ledroptha Curtain, an announcement was made that left the peoples' blood running cold. Anyone accused of insanity or sedition would be sentenced to public execution by hanging. No one questioned the new law because the M.A.S.T.E.R. was there to protect them, and he knew best. At least that's what they were told. Again, Reynie was too intelligent to express his doubts. He remembered what had happened near the turn of the Emergency. Chaos reigned as people panicked about the voices in their heads, all saying the same things. '_The missing aren't missing, they're only departed. All minds keep all thoughts-so like gold- closely guarded.' _The nonsensical phrases just kept coming and repeating all day and all night, until one day a new message stood out.

**Feel certain with Curtain.**

And soon enough almost everyone was desperately calling out for this mysterious 'Curtain'. Almost a month passed before the man came forward with the cure for Sudden Amnesia Disease. He was appointed Minister And Secretary of all The Earth's Regions, and that was when the changes started happening. Everyone was required to wear a uniform at all time. (A white tunic, striped pants, and a blue sash.)

People who were appointed certain occupations, such as government officials, were given solid pants. The color of the sash was changed depending on certain things. A purple sash meant that the wearer was on trial for a minor crime. Green meant that someone was on parole. The last color of sash meant that there was no hope. Red, the color that marked you for execution.

People with certain jobs, like M.A.S.T.E.R. appointed police officers, would switch the striped pants for solid ones. Recruiters would always be seen wearing suits, and rarely, one would be seen carrying a briefcase, though few people noticed, and even fewer honestly cared. On certain occasions, like executions, one of the men with a briefcase would have masks covering their entire face, except for their eyes and mouth. It was a terrifying image; one of the last ones that those condemned would ever see. The executions were not common. Very few people ever even thought of defying the M.A.S.T.E.R.

Curfews were strictly enforced. Anyone outside after 9:30 on any given night would immediately be given a purple sash and a court date. The only people allowed out after curfew were the Recruiters, who would always be seen patrolling the streets at night in pairs. The though brought comfort to many. Recruiters (though no one knew why they were called Recruiters, or who had started calling them that) patrolling the streets, keeping them safe, and keeping the peace. For such reasons, Recruiters were highly respected. Reynie, however, was weary of the men, especially the ones that carried their mysterious briefcases.

Reynie spent the night after the execution deep in thought. He was in the library, alone, as always. He used to spend the days with Miss Perumal, his former tutor, but she had been taken to a treatment facility after the Improvement, and Reynie never knew what became of her, so he spent his days in almost complete solitude. He had read most of the books in the library, but he still spent most of his time in the dusty room to avoid the relentless teasing from his peers. It wasn't hard for them to tell that he was different, they just couldn't tell how so. For that Reynie was thankful. If someone found out that he was thinking against the M.A.S.T.E.R. he would surely be executed.

He still remembered the first days of the Improvement, where the entire world's population had been in treatment centers. Everyone had spent months waiting and wondering until the voices suddenly stopped, and they had been released. No one questioned it. They had just been thankful, for this strange Mr. Curtain had seemingly saved the world from the brink of insanity. How fitting it had seemed to reward him with such a majestic title of Minister And Secretary of all The Earth's Regions. He did deserve it after all. Or so everyone said. The few people who disagreed were largely ignored at first. Then their numbers slowly diminished until the Anti-Supremacy movement, as they had dubbed themselves, was no more. No one knew what had happened to them, but they were certainly glad that they were gone.

That's just how it was. The M.A.S.T.E.R. was considered by many the closest thing to a god as humanly possible. He had saved them, and anyone who dared speak otherwise could hardly be considered undeserving vermin at his feet. It was frightening the lack of sympathy or compassion people had nowadays. Anyone with even a vaguely rude comment about the M.A.S.T.E.R. would immediately be thrown to the dogs and ratted out to the Recruiters, who were never merciful. The punishment was always the same. Execution was the only way to prevent disloyalty. Execution was considered a harsh, but necessary evil.

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The next day Reynie, along with everyone else rose with the sun. All of the children in the orphanage dressed and went down for breakfast. As usual, Reynie ate his breakfast in solitude and hurried down to the library. He went about his reading as usual when something unusual happened. The bell used to summon the citizens rang out for the second day in a row. Two executions in two days? Executions were extremely rare, and two in such close succession was unheard of. Reynie felt sick to his stomach. Still, he got up sullenly from the couch and replaced his book to the shelf. As he joined the crowd of people in front of the city hall, he thought about the poor person who was about to be slaughtered. Were they a man or a woman? Did they have a family? Had someone they cared deeply about been the person to turn them in? Reynie's mind flared with anger. Why was this happening? He looked around him at all of the people in the square. Mindless sheep, they were. Sheep who believed anything and everything that they were told. The entire world had been brainwashed into believing that anyone with a different opinion deserved to be exterminated, simply for thinking.

"This is horrifying." A look of horror overtook his face as he realized that his thoughts had somehow made their way into words and fell from his mouth. Had someone heard? He looked around wildly, but much to his relief, no one was looking at him. He took a minute to calm himself from his panic as a few people made their way into the square. A girl pushed past him rather rudely and promptly disappeared into the throng of identically dressed people, but Reynie hardly reacted. He was used to such behavior from the children at the orphanage, and continued his downward gaze, lost in his thoughts.

When at last the stream of people entering the square merged into the chattering crowd, two masked executioners climbed onto the gallows, leading a woman to the large center pole. The crowd fell silent, and Reynie looked up in spite of himself. His mouth fell open and his face paled. No! It can't be possible!

"Afreen Tavishi **(1)** Perumal. Convicted of conspiring against the Minister And Secretary of all The Earth's Regions. By order of the law this woman is sentenced to death. She is to be hung by the neck until death."

Reynie's beloved tutor stood tall on the gallows as the masked man slid the noose around her neck. Tears sprang up in Reynie's eyes and he couldn't stop himself from calling out. "No!"

The crowd's eyes swiveled to him and people began to pull away from him, as if afraid of being guilty by association, and he noticed out the outskirts of his vision that Recruiters-the one with briefcases- were slowly walking towards him. The executioner's eyes were narrow slits through his mask as he scanned the crowd until his gaze fell on Reynie. Miss Perumal's tall proud stance crumpled as her eyes met Reynie's and she saw the Recruiters were making their way towards Reynie.

In the next instant, two things happened. A tall blonde girl-Reynie recognized her as the one who pushed him earlier- vaulted herself onto the platform and rammed into the executioner, and two Recruiters grabbed onto Reynie. As Reynie fought to throw the strong men off of him, his eyes followed the girl as she pulled the noose from Miss Perumal's neck and dragged the stunned woman off of the platform. When on the ground, the older woman seemed to get her bearings and said something to the girl with a stern look on her face. The girl just shrugged before turning herself to Reynie's struggling form. She then grabbed Miss Perumal's arm and sprinted full speed towards the scuffle as one of the men began to open his briefcase.

The crowd, who only just seemed to notice that something had happened up on the gallows as well as in the square was too shocked to stop the girl as she pulled the older woman behind her, plowing over citizens as she went. Before Reynie could react, one of the Recruiters was pulled off of him. The other, who seemed shocked that a child could yank his partner off of the troublemaker was then knocked upside the head with something heavy. Reynie turned to see the unconscious Recruiter on the ground and Miss Perumal holding a briefcase. She then grabbed his hand and pulled the distraught boy over to where the girl was fighting the other Recruiter. With another swing of the briefcase, the other man was rendered unconscious as well.

The girl grabbed both Miss Perumal's and Reynie's arms and sprinted out of the square. It took Reynie a moment to realize that they were being pursued. He then, powered by a new wave of adrenalin, started to run a little faster. Soon the girl dragged them into an alley, where she pounded on a door in an odd pattern. The door opened as soon as she finished the knock (which Reynie noted, _must_ be a code of some sort), and the girl pushed Reynie and Miss Perumal through the door and quickly whispered to the person who opened it.

"If I'm not at the meeting place by midnight then I'm probably dead." The door then slammed close, shrouding the place in darkness.

The words sent a shiver down Reynie's spine. So many questions raced through his mind. Who was that girl? Where was he? What was going to happen to him? His mind raced as he stood next to his former tutor in the dark. No one said a word as they heard the girl's quick footsteps fade away, soon accompanied with more footsteps. The Recruiters, Reynie realized. They were after the mysterious girl who had just saved him. He knew the girl was unbelievably fast, but was she fast enough? And he thought about her words. What meeting place? She surely wasn't going to die was she? And had she actually saved him? Here he was, standing in the dark with a stranger, and a woman he hadn't seen in years, while he was now considered a criminal. Did Miss Perumal know these people? Could he actually trust them? He just stood there trying to figure out what to think as the footsteps faded, and the sound of a match being struck came from a corner of the room. The little flame was soon set to a candle.

The flickering light was not enough to comfort Reynie as shadows danced around the room.

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**So how was it? This idea flitted its way into my head and I just had to write it out. I wrote this on a plane, so it might be the air pressure getting to me. Please do review, I would rather like to know what you think.**

**(1) Afreen Tavishi Perumal. I got this name by finding out that Tamil (the language Miss Perumal was teaching Reynie in book one) was an Indian (India Indian, not Native American Indian) language. Then I googled some Indian names. Afreen means encouragement and Tavishi means courage. I think that that suits Miss Perumal, but that's just me. It doesn't matter I suppose, I doubt that she'll be called anything but Miss Perumal from here on out. I just needed a full name for the Executioner's speech.**

**Thanks you for reading. Please review! Oh, and do feel free to message me if you want to ask me anything. I'd love to talk to you!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Wow, I planned to update this a long time ago, but then I started high school, and with that a few new clubs and activities that I didn't have time for. On the bright side, it has made me take a look at my schedule and I've decided to cut out some things next year. Hopefully this will give me some free time for a change. Yay!**

**On another note, thank you so much for all of the reviews! Reading them makes me so happy, and I love you all. I apologize for this being so late. I will try my best to update more often, and I should be able to now that school is almost out. Hooray!**

**In the last chapter I chose to still call the men with briefcases Recruiters. This is because the general public does not know what is in the briefcases, and so they don't have any reason to call them Ten Men. I also left them as Recruiters because that was a term Mr. Curtain coined, so we'll just say it stuck. Plus, I have an idea that I may or may not choose to use that will make sense.**

**Disclaimer- I own nothing except the plot. Too bad.**

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**Book One-Dura Lex, Sed Lex**

**(The law is harsh, but it is the law)**

**Chapter Two**

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The room stayed silent for a few minutes more, and Reynie took the chance to observe his surroundings. The room they were standing in was small and empty. The only furniture in the room was the rickety table with a small candle on it, and a heavy looking bookshelf by the door he and Miss Perumal had been shoved through. The candle itself had been lighted by a tall man, about which the first thing that Reynie noticed was that wearing a simple t-shirt and jeans, instead of a uniform.

The man regarded Reynie with a raised brow, as if waiting for him to speak first, however Reynie was in no mind to form coherent words, so he stayed silent to save himself the embarrassment. The man soon seemed to realize this, for he turned to Miss Perumal and spoke to her instead.

"Who is this?"

"I used to tutor him before the Improvement." She spoke the word 'improvement' as though she thought the term were the most ridiculous title ever created. "He was in the crowd today and he called out when he saw me and was attacked by Ten Men."

'Ten Men?' The name was unfamiliar to Reynie, but his mind was still racing with millions of questions, but he didn't feel like it would be wise to interrupt the adults who now seemed to be arguing.

"-and you should have just left me! What if Kate gets hurt or captured? I'm not worth that!"

"She went on her own! By the time we found out that she was gone it was too late to go out without being seen! Trust me, when she gets back here, she will be in big trouble!" At this, the man took a deep breath and leaned back against a wall. At this, Miss Perumal's expression softened.

"I'm sorry, I know you must be worried out of your mind right now. She is your daughter. Even if you could have known what she was going to do, you probably couldn't have stopped her. You know how stubborn she is." Miss Perumal said trying to comfort the man. "But she is also very resourceful. She'll be fine, and we'll all see her tonight."

"I hope so. I am glad that you're safe now." The man gave her a weak smile, and then turned to Reynie. "I suppose you would like to know what is going on." Reynie swallowed and opened his mouth praying that he could find his voice.

"Who are you?"

"That seems like a good place to start. Well, my name's Milligan. I've gathered that you know Miss Perumal." Reynie nodded. "Well, the two of us, along with a few other people, are what is left of the Anti-Supremacy movement." He paused, as if trying to gauge Reynie's reaction, before continuing. "When people started to go missing during the protests against Curtain we were forced to go into hiding. There are seven of us currently living here. There used to be more, but they were captured a long time ago." The man seemed hesitant to continue, as though he didn't trust Reynie to not run out and tell everyone everything he just heard. He fixed a steely gaze on Reynie. "This used to be and old FBI safe house that fell out of use and was forgotten about years ago, but we've managed to hide here."

"I thought you said that there were seven of you? How do you all stay in here?" Reynie asked as he glanced around the cramped room, before settling his thoughtful gaze on the bookcase. Milligan's sharp expression suddenly transformed into an approving grin.

"I see it didn't take you very long to figure that one out. I have a feeling Mr. Benedict will want to talk to you." And with that, Milligan walked over to the bookcase and pulled four books halfway out of the shelf, (to trigger a locking mechanism perhaps?) and then pushed the bookshelf to the side. This revealed a large metal door with three large locks.

The room they were standing in was just a sort of antechamber to the actual safe house. It was designed so that if you had the bookcase pushed over the door to the safe house, you could get into the antechamber from outside, but if you pushed the bookcase out of the way of the safe house door, you couldn't get into the antechamber from outside.**(1)**

As Reynie was taking in the simple brilliance of the design, he briefly wondered who Mr. Benedict was. He watched as Milligan produced two keys and inserted them into two of the locks. He turned the keys and pushed the door open. Before Reynie could even ask about the third lock, Miss Perumal explained that the third lock was just there to confuse anyone who tried to break in. If someone managed to pick the locks, they would end up locking the third lock, which obviously would prevent the door from opening.

When the door was pushed open, they were met with a small room with three new doorways. Reynie heard the clicking of the locking door behind them, and couldn't help but cringe. He was now locked in a strange place, with no idea what was going to happen to him, and no way out.

* * *

Kate sprinted around another corner to see another pair of Ten Men headed in her direction. She quickly scanned the darkening street for a way to escape the now four men chasing her. There was an empty alley across the street from where she stood. The approaching footsteps prompted Kate to dash towards the opening. Her eyes flicked ahead to see that there was a locked gate stretching across the passage, but there was a small gap where the gate didn't touch the ground, large enough for a teenage girl, but far too small for a grown man of a Ten Man's stature. A smirk flickered across Kate's face as she got onto the ground and slid under the gate. It was a tight squeeze, but Kate didn't even register the metal tearing at her clothes and skin.

The Ten Men cursed at her from behind the gate; however the smirk fell from Kate's face as she heard the men radio someone for backup on her side of the alley. She didn't stick around to find out if there was anyone coming. She sprinted out of the passage, and quickly scanned the streets for more Ten Men. A pair of the men had just started to turn the corner at the end of the street, so Kate once again sprinted off in the opposite direction. She took a detour through someone's yard, accidently trampling their flower bed. She cringed, because the people who lived there would probably get a demerit because that made their house less uniform to the rest of the street.

As she hopped over the back fence, she took a deep breath and cautiously walked to the end of the street. Once she saw that the coast was clear, Kate pulled a hand drawn map out of her pocket. She found the meeting place on the map, and after a quick look at the nearest street signs she found where she was. She quickly calculated the shortest route, and took off running in that direction.

The streets for the next few blocks were oddly void of Ten Men. This was enough to draw Kate's attention, but it didn't cause her to slow down to think about it until she had to stop to check the map again. The streetlamp she was using for light was buzzing loudly above her head when suddenly a massive dark object became visible in her peripheral vision. Kate froze, then quickly scrambled out of the ring of light and shoved the map into the waistband of her pants. The buzzing all of a sudden stopped, and Kate led out a small gasp as the outline of a giant tank-like vehicle became visible, and then furrowed her brow when the sound went unheard to her own ears.

The thing rolled to a stop just outside the perimeter of the streetlamp's reach, and Kate could see the outline of half a dozen men inside of it. She paled and prayed that they had not seen her standing there, but as soon as the men started to launch themselves out of the vehicle she knew that they had. Kate turned onto the nearest street only to see another one of the massive tanks. They had her cornered. The buzzing sound shuddered back on, as if by the flip of a switch.

"We don't want to hurt you," a deep voice called out, "but we will if we have to."

"Who are we kidding, we'd love to hurt her, but if she cooperates, we might not." Another voice responded as a pair of men slowly walked towards Kate with their arms held of in a soothing manner.

"She looks like a feisty little duck." The first voice said, seeing her crouched form in the beam of his flashlight.

"McCracken might want to get to know this one."

As soon as the name 'McCracken' was spoken, Kate tensed up. She knew exactly who he was. As soon as Mr. Curtain had taken power, McCracken had been appointed chief of disciplinary action. Milligan had heard about him before then from his work as a secret agent, and the things he had heard were less than pleasant.

As soon as the pair of men were close enough to reach, Kate's leg shot out and knocked one man into another, sending them both to the ground. This prompted the rest of the men to circle up around her. Arms reached towards her from all directions, trying to grab onto her. Kate punched and slapped them away, but blows continued to fall on her body. One lucky hit by a particularly bolt-knuckled Ten Man brought blood from Kate's nose with a sickening crunch.

Finally, one of the men managed to grab roughly onto one of Kate's arms. He wrenched it behind her back, and Kate felt another sharp blow to her back, and then her face. A thick arm became wrapped around her throat, and the world began to go fuzzy, when suddenly a loud voice cut through the air.

"Leave her and fall back. Curtain's orders." There was a general dissent from the crowd of Ten Men, but another gruff command from the man (apparently the leader of the group) promoted the Ten Men to roughly drop Kate on the sidewalk and return to the parked tanks. The eerie silence fell again as Kate regained her breath. Glancing around, Kate saw that she was alone again, and brought out the now crumpled map. As soon as she plotted the rest of her trip, Kate took another weary look around, and began to run again.

Little did she know that a little girl in a red raincoat was hunched over in pain behind a trashcan just outside the ring of light provided by the buzzing streetlamp.

* * *

The rooms had turned out to be a maze. Reynie let himself be led through the rooms for what seemed like hours before they met another door. This one however, had what looked like a lock on it, but really there was a secret lever in the room next to it that unlocked the door.

Milligan had then taken Reynie down a hallway and told him to wait. The older man had then gone into a room. Reynie had been waiting in the hall for almost an half an hour before he returned.

"Mr. Benedict wants to see you now. He's the man who started the Anti-Supremacy movement and brought us all together. He can answer all of your questions." Milligan beckoned Reynie into the room. Instead of there just being one man in the room, as Reynie had been expecting, there were three people. Two women on either side of an unconscious man. The two women were adjusting the man in a large armchair, as if he had just dropped off into a deep sleep. But that wasn't what shocked Reynie. The man in the chair was Mr. Curtain.

Reynie started, and the two women (one in her late twenties with dark skin and hair, and one in her mid-forties who looked shockingly like a pencil) noticed him for the first time. Reynie was still staring at Mr. Curtain, and had grown quite pale. It had been a trap, and now he was going to be executed right here and now.

Milligan noticed Reynie's pallor, and quickly realized the situation. "That is Mr. Benedict. I suppose I should have told you this before you saw him, but he and Mr. Curtain are twins."

Reynie didn't know what to believe. It seemed like too much of a coincidence that the leader of the Anti-Supremacy movement just happened to be the identical twin of the man who had somehow silently taken over the world. There was no time to think about it any further, for the younger woman spoke to him.

"So you must be Reynie."

Nodding, Reynie took an uneasy step forward, keeping his eyes on the unconscious form of the man in the chair. The two women looked friendly enough, but then again, so did the Recruiters.

"I'm Rhonda, and this is Number Two. We've been working for Mr. Benedict for a few years now." She was about to continue, but the man in the chair began to stir, and her attention turned from Reynie to him.

"How long was I out for?" The man asked, running his hand through his unruly white hair.

"Only a few minutes." The pencil lady (or Number Two, Rhonda had said) replied. The man opened his mouth as if to say something, but his eyes met Reynie's and his mouth closed.

"Ah, hello dear boy. I'm sorry to have kept you waiting even for a few minutes. I'm sure you are nervous enough right now." Before Reynie could answer, Mr. Curtain, or rather Mr. Benedict, turned to Rhonda and Number Two. "Would you mind getting us some tea and snacks? I'm sure Reynie has lots of questions to ask, and I do believe that it has been a while since he has eaten today." Both women began to protest, but Mr. Benedict assured him that he would be quite safe with Reynie in the room, and that he would stay close to the ground. That last part confused Reynie, but it seemed to sooth Rhonda and Number Two, so they left the room, and Milligan followed them out, muttering something about going to the meeting place to wait for Kate.

Reynie hadn't realized it until Mr. Benedict mentioned it, but he was rather hungry. However, he felt as though sending the women away was just an excuse to talk to Reynie alone. Somehow this comforted and terrified him at the same time.

"Would you like to play a game of chess?" Mr. Benedict asked. "A good game always helps me calm my nerves, and I'm sure that you could do with some of that right now." Reynie nodded, and sat down at by the chess set that was sitting on a low table. "Before you ask your questions, I would like to warn you that I have a condition called narcolepsy. I'm sure you've heard of it. It causes me to drop off to sleep whenever I'm feeling a particularly strong emotion. Now that you know, please ask me anything you like."

Reynie took a moment to take it all in before he said anything. Something told him to trust this man. Sure he had only seen Mr. Curtain on television, but he had given off the opposite feeling. Just seeing Mr. Curtain's face made him want to shiver in fear, but being with Mr. Benedict made him feel calm. Was it possible that they were indeed two different people?

"Why should I trust you?" he found himself saying.

Mr. Benedict raised an eyebrow. "Why shouldn't you. I haven't given you any reason not to." The man hadn't seemed defensive when he asked his question. "I know it must be hard for you to feel comfortable around me, considering the fact that I look so much like my brother, but I can assure you that we are far from being one in the same." There was a certain sadness in Mr. Benedict's tone when he spoke of his brother, as if he regretted his brother's actions. In that moment, something inside of Reynie broke down and made him want to believe this man's story.

"Okay then," Reynie said, deciding to steer away from that topic until he had made up his mind about the man in front of him. "Milligan said that there were seven people living here. Who are they?"

"Well, you've already met Milligan, Rhonda, Number Two, and myself. Kate, the girl who brought you here is Milligan's daughter, and Moocho is Kate's old friend from the circus, but before you ask, she'll want to be the one to tell you more about that. There used to be more of us, but they were captured by the Ten Men. Mrs. Perumal, Miss Perumal's mother was one of them." Reynie gasped, and Mr. Benedict's face fell slightly. "There was also a married couple whom you most likely don't know, the Washingtons, and several of Milligan's sentries. We hope to be able to rescue them soon, but we need to find out where they are being held first."

"How do you know that they're still alive?" Reynie blurted out, then cringed as he realized what he said.

"They're known members of the Anti-Supremacy Movement. Mr. Curtain will hope to get as much information out of them as possible. Do not worry though, we are still quite safe," Mr. Benedict said, prompted by the worry showing up in Reynie's expression. "They are all extremely loyal to the cause. Nothing could get them to give up anything."

There was a brief pause as Reynie digested the new information before he began to ask more questions. "Why is everyone okay with this? I mean the normal people. How can they think that what Mr. Curtain is doing is right?"

"This is where things get a bit complicated. You might not be able to believe what I am about to tell you, but I can promise you that, to my knowledge, nothing I am about to tell you is a lie." Mr. Benedict took a pause to take a sip of the tea that Rhonda had brought in sometime while the two men were talking. "Mr. Curtain has spent the better part of the last thirty years, for a lack of better wording, brainwashing people. All those years ago he found a way to add hidden messages to all kinds of transmissions. These hidden messages found a way to 'ride' on the radio waves being conducted through televisions, radios, and cell phones. People were absorbing these messages without even knowing it."

"Is that why I can never stand watching the television or listening to the radio?"

"That is correct. There are certain people who resisted absorbing the waves. People with a strong love of the truth found themselves rejecting the messages, and found that they couldn't stand being near anything that transmitted them."

"Then why do-" Reynie started to ask before being interrupted by the door opening. Miss Perumal stood in the doorway in a robe and slippers.

"I'm sorry to interrupt, but it is almost one o'clock in the morning. I know Reynie must have hundreds of questions, but it is time for him to go to bed. You will still be here to answer them tomorrow." She said sternly, not leaving any room for an argument.

"Quite right." Mr. Benedict said with a look at the clock on the wall. "I haven't been paying attention to the time." With a glance towards the chess board, he captured Reynie's queen and muttered a quick 'check mate'. "I'm sorry to leave you hanging, but Miss Perumal is correct. And perhaps it would be best for you to have some time to think over what you have learned tonight before we go any further." Reynie nodded, suddenly very tired. Mr. Benedict turned to Miss Perumal. "I trust young Kate returned in one piece?"

"Barely. She's safe, but she's pretty beaten up. Rhonda says that her nose is broken, and she's covered in bruises and scratches." She shook her head. "Milligan said that he's too relieved to punish her now, but by tomorrow she's going to be in a lot of trouble. She's getting ready for bed now, but she said that she needs to tell you something."

"I'm sure whatever it is can wait until tomorrow. She needs her rest."

"That's what I said. No doubt she'll be up early enough tomorrow. Where she gets all of that energy I will never know. Anyways, Reynie, I'll show you to your bedroom."

Reynie and Mr. Benedict bid each other goodnight, and then Reynie followed Miss Perumal out of the study and down one of the many hallways.

"How am I ever going to be able to find my way around here?" Reynie wondered out loud. The entire safe house seemed like it had been designed as a giant maze. Some of the hallways they passed ended with dead ends, and some seemed to go on forever. Some of the doors even looked like you would need to solve a puzzle to enter them.

"It takes a while, trust me." Miss Perumal said with a laugh. "But you're the smartest kid I've ever met. You'll have it figured out in no time. Plus, I have a feeling that you and Kate will get along very well, and she'll be dragging you all over the place." They stopped in front of a simple door, and Miss Perumal opened it. (By pushing on the side of the door opposite the door knob.) "This is the room that you'll be staying in tonight. Mr. Benedict said that you can choose another room if you like once you get used to the place, but for now this one is easy to open and right across from a bathroom. You don't even have to pick one if you don't want to. I think Kate picks a different one every night, but I have a feeling that you'll pick just one." Miss Perumal said with a smile. She then explained to him that there were some clothes in the dresser for him, as well as various toiletries.

"It's good to see you again Miss Perumal." Reynie said, smiling. His tutor looked at him for a moment before drawing him into a hug.

"It's good to see you too." She said, wiping a tear from her eye. "Now, you must be exhausted. Go get some sleep. We can talk tomorrow." Reynie obeyed her, bid her goodnight, and retreated into the room to retrieve the things for a shower, as well as a toothbrush and toothpaste.

* * *

After getting out of the shower, Reynie dressed himself in a pair of pajamas that had been in the dresser and then brushed his teeth. He walked out of the bathroom, only to, quite literally, run into someone.

That someone was none other than the girl who had rescued him from the Recruiters earlier that day. She was taller than Reynie by at least three inches, and her long (slightly damp, as though she just got out of the shower) blond hair fell almost past her waist. Her face was bruised, yet she looked cheerful nonetheless.

"Good, I was afraid that you were asleep already. You probably know already, but my name's Kate Wetherall." Kate held out her hand and Reynie shook it.

"My name's Reynie Muldoon. Um, thank you for saving me earlier."

"No problem. It's not like I could have just left you there. Well, you're probably drained, and to be honest, so am I. I'll talk to you tomorrow." And with that she was off. Reynie just shook his head. She seemed pleasant enough, but he was too tired to think anymore, so he tried to turn the doorknob to his room, before he remembered that he had to push on the other side. Shaking his head again, he walked into his room, before muttering to himself,

"This is going to take some getting used to."

* * *

**This didn't turn out how I planned for it to at all. I'm not entirely sure how I feel about it. I don't really like the end, it (like other parts of the chapter) seemed too rushed, but I had to have Kate meet Reynie. It's not like she would just wait until the next day to meet him. She's far too impatient for that. I also didn't want to launch into another conversation, so I just kept it brief.**

**(1) Did you understand what I meant when I was explaining the entryway? I'm not sure how clear I was. I tried to design the door so that you could only get into one place at a time. If you wanted to get into the antechamber from outside, the bookshelf would have to be in front of the door to the safe house. When the bookshelf is over the door to the safe house, it locks and you have to pull out several books in order to unlock it, like a combination lock. Then you can push the bookshelf out of the way and you can get to the safe house door, but the bookshelf is now in front of the door to get into the antechamber from outside, so you can't get in.**

**So, let me know what you think. Thanks for reading, and thanks again for all of your wonderful reviews.**


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